Kudos to Time magazine for an unusual choice in their year-end “top ten medical breakthroughs” list. Nine of the ten breakthroughs recognize the usual suspects: drugs, vaccines, genes and research. But not at the number one position.

The above-mentioned mammography guidelines – that suggest less, not more, medical testing – carried the day, in Time’s opinion, as the most significant breakthrough of 2009.

Call it a slow year if you like. Or consider it a thoughtful choice that may signal a shift in the idea of what qualifies as a medical breakthrough.